Bagging station

ABSTRACT

A bagging station is disclosed in which a number of plastic bags on a bag roll can be dispensed from the station in a manner in which enables the bags to be easily opened and filled with various items on the station. The bags are held on the roll within a bag mounting portion on the device and are drawn vertically upwardly into a bag filling portion. The bag is oriented and held in an opened configuration in the bag filling portion to enable to a number of items to be positioned within the bag and maintained on the bag filling portion. Once the bag is filled, the bag can be closed and drawn upwardly out of the bag filling portion, which operates to pull a subsequent bag off of the roll from the bag mounting portion into the bag filling portion prior to separating the filled bag from the subsequent bag, such that the subsequent bag is available for immediate use for filling with other items.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to plastic bag dispensers for dispensingindividual plastic bags from a roll of plastic bags, and morespecifically, to an apparatus or device that enables the bag to bedispensed and filled prior to separating the bag from the remainder ofthe roll.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

When shopping at a store, often times the items that are purchased by anindividual are not packaged when purchased, such as items of produce.Thus, these items are usually selected by the individual and placedwithin a plastic bag for holding the unpackaged items until it isdesired to remove the items from the bag, such as when the individualreaches the their home. The bags are supplied from a roll of the bagswhich are wound on a tubular core. The bags are integrally formed from astrip or tube of a plastic material that is sealed to form separate bagsalong the length of the tube. Successive bags are wound around the coreand are separated from one another by perforation lines formed betweensuccessive bags that allow the bags to be torn off the roll when asufficient tearing force is applied.

In order to provide and dispense these bags within the stores, a numberof different types of devices and mechanisms have been developed. Onetype of device designed for this purpose supports a roll of plastic bagsin a manner such that the bags can be individually removed from the rollfor use in holding and transporting items that are placed therein. Someexamples of devices of this type are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos.5,556,019; 5,573,168; 5,813,5851; 6,488,222; and 6,685,075. Thesemechanisms allow a shaft or core supporting a roll of separable plasticbags to be rotatably mounted to the device in a removable manner. Aseach bag is pulled off of the roll, the bag is engaged with a separationtongue that operates to engage the perforation line between the bags anddisengage the bag from the remainder of the roll, such that the bag canbe utilized to hold selected items.

One significant shortcoming with each of these prior art bag dispensingdevices is that the devices do not enable the bag to be held in an openposition for filling by an individual utilizing the bag. Thus, eventhough the bags are easily dispensed from these prior art devices, dueto the properties of the plastic material holding the bags, namely thetendency of the plastic material to attract and stick to itself,preventing easy opening of the bags, it is desirable to develop a devicethat not only dispenses the plastic bags from a roll for use by anindividual, but also assists in the opening and filling of the bags. Itis also desirable that the device be capable of being utilized with theexisting rolls of plastic bags used with other devices, such that thebag rolls utilized in those prior art devices and mechanism can also beutilized in this device.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to a primary aspect of the present invention, a baggingstation is provided that enables plastic bags on a conventional roll tobe drawn off of the roll, opened utilizing the bagging station, andfilled and separated from the remainder of the roll. The bagging stationincludes a bag roll mounting portion on which a conventional roll ofplastic bags can be rotatably mounted. A bag filling portion is mountedto the bag roll mounting portion and is utilized to enable plastic bagsbeing dispensed from the roll to be held in a generally openconfiguration to allow placement of selected items therein. The fillingportion includes an opening at a lower end through which the bags fromthe bag roll can be drawn upwardly from the bag roll mounting portioninto the filling portion and placed in the open configuration. After thebag has been filled with the desired type and number of items, the bagcan be closed utilizing any suitable mechanism, such as a heat scalingdevice or a clip disposed on the bagging station, and subsequentlypulled upwardly out of the filling portion. As the filled bag is movedout of the filling portion, a bag separating member engaged with thesubsequent bag being drawn off of the roll, separates the filled bagfrom the subsequent bag. After separation, the subsequent bag is left ina position partially within the bag filling portion to enable thesubsequent bag to be readily grasped and utilized in the same manner asthe previously filled bag.

According to another aspect of the present invention, the baggingstation can be secured to any desired support in order to hold the bagmounting portion and filling portion of the device at a level that iseasily utilizable by an individual. The bag mounting portion can beattached to a bracket that can be attached to a wall or to a verticalstand that can support the bagging station above a horizontal surface.

Numerous other aspects, features and advantages of the present inventionwill be made apparent from following detailed description taken togetherwith the drawing figures.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The drawings illustrate the best mode currently contemplated aspracticing the present invention.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a isometric view of a bagging station constructed according tothe present invention;

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of a bag separating member utilized in thebagging station of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 3 is a top plan view of a clip used to secure the bags dispensedfrom the bagging station.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

With reference now to the drawing figures in which like referencenumerals designate like parts throughout the disclosure, a baggingstation constructed according the present invention is illustratedgenerally at 10 in FIG. 1. The bagging station 10 includes a bag rollmounting portion 12 to which is secured a bag filling portion 14 and asupport 16.

The bag mounting portion 12 is formed of any suitably rigid material,such as a metal or plastic material, and can have any suitable shape ofa sufficient size to accommodate a conventional roll of plastic bags 24.The roll 24 includes a central hollow core 26 around which are wound anumber of folded plastic bags 28 secured together in an elongated stripand separated along the length of the strip by perforation lines 29.

In the preferred embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the bag mounting portion 12includes a bottom wall 30 and a pair of upwardly extending sidewalls 32positioned on opposite sides of the bottom wall 30 that can be joined bya top wall (not shown) disposed opposite the bottom wall 30. A bag rollmounting member 34 is releasably secured in the roll mounting portion 12between the sidewalls 32. In a preferred embodiment, the mounting member34 takes the form of a cylindrical rod 36 that is insertable through thecentral core 26 of a plastic bag roll 24 in order to rotatably supportthe roll 24 thereon. The rod 36 is secured at each end within a pair ofaligned openings 38 in the opposed sidewalls 32 of the bag roll mountingportion 12. The rod 36 is releasably secured within the openings 38 toenable the rod 36 to be removed from the bag roll mounting portion 12when the bag roll 24 has dispensed all of the bags positioned thereon.Another roll 24 can then be mounted to the rod 36, and rod 36 and roll24 can be remounted to the bag roll mounting portion 12 for continueduse of the device 10. Alternatively, the bag roll mounting portion 12can include other structures, such as brackets or clips, among othersthat can engage the rod 36 or the core 26 and allow the roll 24 torotate with respect to the bag roll mounting portion 12. Alternatively,the top wall can be omitted, with the bag filling portion 14 secured toand forming the top wall for the bag mounting portion 12.

Bags 28 from the roll 24 are drawn vertically through an opening or slot(not shown) in the top wall of the roll mounting member 12 into anaperture 40 formed in a narrow, bottom end 42 of the bag filling portion14. The bag filling portion 14 can be formed from a suitably rigidmaterial similarly to the bag roll mounting portion 12 and can be formedintegrally or separately from the bag roll mounting portion 12. Thefilling portion 14 can have any desired shape, but in the preferredembodiment in FIG. 1 is preferably bowl-shaped in order to enable thebag filling portion 14 to easily hold and retain a number of items (notshown) that are positioned within the bag 28 dispensed from the bag roll24.

When in use, the bag 28, while still connected to the remainder of thebag roll 24 through the aperture 40, has the open end (not shown) of thebag 28 positioned around and optionally releasably secured to theperiphery 43 of a wide, top end 44 of the bag filling portion 14 inorder to place the bag 28 in opened configuration. The items to bepositioned within the bag 28 can then be placed within the bag 28 on topof the bag filling portion 14, which maintains the items in the bag 28within the bag filling portion 14. Once the desired number and type ofitems have been positioned within the bag 28, the bag 28 can be drawnclosed around the items and secured utilizing any suitable means. In onepreferred embodiment, the bag 28 is secured in a closed position by aplastic clip 45, shown in FIG. 3. The clips 45 define a pair of openings46 within which the open end of the bag 28 can be secured to effectivelyclose the open end of the bag 28. The openings 46 can also be positionedaround a clip holding member 48 positioned on the station 10 to hold theclips 45 on the device 10 until they are used.

Alternatively, in another preferred embodiment, a bag sealing device 100can be provided on the station 10 to seal, such as by heat sealing, theopen end of the bag 28. The sealing device 100 forms a slot 102extending through the device 100 with a pair of sealing rollers 104disposed on each side of the slot 102. To seal a bag 28, the rollers 104can be rotated and heated using power from a supply (not shown) to whicha cord 106 is connected, to consequently melt and seal the materialforming the bag that passes between the preheated rollers 104. Further,the device 100 can include a suitable detector, such as an infrareddetector, located at the entrance to the slot 102. The detector, whensensing the presence of a bag 28 in the slot 102, operates to rotate therollers 104 and allow the bag 28 to be sealed using the roller 102. Whenthe bag 28 moves out of the slot 102, the detector operates to ceaserotation of the rollers 104 until another bag 28 is sensed by thedetector.

After the bag 28 has been filled and closed, the filled bag 28 is drawnupwardly out of the bag filling portion 14. Due to the attachment of theclosed end of the bag 28 to the remainder of the bag roll 24 by theperforation lines 29, the movement of the bag 28 out of the bag fillingportion 14 consequently draws a subsequent bag 28 off of the roll 24 andpartially upwardly through the central aperture 40 in the bag fillingportion 14. To assist in detaching the filled bag 28 from the remainderof the roll 24, the central aperture 40 includes a bag separating member50. The bag separating member 50 is positioned within the aperture 40and operates to allow the bags 28 to move sequentially off of the roll24 from the bag roll mounting portion 12 into the bag filling portion14, but also operates to separate a filled bag 28 from the remainder ofthe bags 28 secured to the bag roll 24 along the perforation lines 29.In a preferred embodiment shown in FIG. 2, the bag separating member 50has an outer periphery 52 that is shaped complimentary to the shape ofthe central aperture 40 and also defines an inner opening 54 positionedat the center of the bag separating member 50. The bags 28 drawn fromthe roll 24 into the bag filling portion 14 are directed through theinner opening 54 of the bag separating member 50. Between the inneropening 54 and the outer periphery 52, the bag separating member 50includes a number of bag separating flanges 56 that operate to engageand pull downwardly on the bag 28 on the bag roll 24 being drawnupwardly into the bag filling portion 14. The bag separating member 50,as well as the separating flanges 56, are preferably formed of adeformable plastic material that creates friction between the flanges 56and the bag 28 drawn upwardly through the inner opening 54. When afilled bag 28 is lifted out of the filling portion 14, this exerts asufficient force on the subsequent bag 28 to separate the filled bag 28from the subsequent bag 28 being drawn into the bag filling portion 14along the perforation line formed between the bags 28. In addition, thediameter of the inner opening 54 is dimensioned such that the bag 28being drawn from the roll 24 through inner opening 54 is ensured ofbeing engaged by a number of the separating flanges 56 to provide asufficient separating force on the subsequent bag 28.

Referring again to FIG. 1, in order to properly position the rollmounting portion 12 and bag filling portion 14 at a level for easy useby an individual, the support 16 is mounted to the bag mounting portion12 opposite the bag filling portion 14. The support 16, in a preferredembodiment, is formed as an elongated stand 58 that positions the bagfilling portion 14 at a suitable height. The stand 58 can be formed of arigid material, such as metal or hard plastic, and can be formedintegrally with or separately from the bottom wall 30 of the rollmounting portion 12. The stand 58 is connected to a platform 60 oppositethe bag mounting portion 12 that stably supports the stand 58, bagmounting portion 12 and bag filling portion 14 above a surface (notshown). In addition to the support 16 being formed with the stand 58 andplatform 60, other alternative configurations for the support 16 arealso contemplated, such as a bracket (not shown) that is attached to avertical wall (not shown) or directly to a produce stand in order tosecure the roll mounting portion 12 or the bag filling portion 14 of thebagging station 10 to the wall without the need for a separate stand 58and platform 60, among others.

Various other features and embodiments of the present invention areconsidered to be within the scope of the following claims particularlypointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter regarded as theinvention.

1. A bag dispensing and filling device comprising: a) a bag mountingportion adapted to hold a number of plastic bags; and b) a bag fillingportion secured to the bag mounting portion defining a generally rigidreceptacle to which an unfilled bag can be releasably held in an openconfiguration and for supporting an exterior surface of the unfilledbags when items are placed within the bags.
 2. The device of claim 1further comprising a bag separating member positioned between the bagmounting portion and a bag filling portion, the bag separating memberincluding a central aperture through which bags from the bag mountingportion can pass into the bag filling portion.
 3. The device of claim 2wherein the bag separating member is disposed within a central openingin a lower end of the bag filling portion.
 4. The device of claim 3wherein the bag separating member includes a number of gripping flangesdisposed around the central aperture and engageable with a bag extendingtherethrough.
 5. The device of claim 4 wherein the bag separating memberis generally circular in shape with the gripping flanges extendingradially outwardly from the central aperture.
 6. The device of claim 4wherein the separating member is formed from a deformable material 7.The device of claim 1 wherein the bag mounting portion includes at leastone bag holding member mounted to the bag portion.
 8. The device ofclaim 7 wherein the at least one bag holding member is mounted between apair of opposed openings in the bag mounting portion.
 9. The device ofclaim 8 wherein the at least one bag holding member is releasablymounted to the bag mounting portion.
 10. The device of claim 1 whereinthe bag mounting portion includes a support adapted to position the bagmounting portion above a surface.
 11. The device of claim 1 wherein thebag filling portion has a narrow lower end and a wide upper end.
 12. Thedevice of claim 11 wherein the bag filling portion is bowl-shaped. 13.The device of claim 1 further comprising a bag closing mechanismdisposed on the bag filling portion.
 14. The device of claim 13 whereinthe bag closing mechanism is a heat sealing mechanism.
 15. The device ofclaim 13 wherein the bag closing mechanism is a mechanical closure. 16.A method for dispensing and filling a bag, the method comprising thesteps of: a) providing a bag dispensing and filling device including abag mounting portion holding a number of bags thereon, a bag fillingportion secured to the bag mounting portion and defining a generallyrigid receptacle on which an unfilled bag removed from the bag mountingportion can be releasably positioned in an open configuration andcapable of supporting an exterior surface of the unfilled bag when itemsare placed within the bag, and a bag separating member positionedbetween the bag mounting portion and the bag filling portion, the bagseparating member defining a central aperture through which bags passfrom the bag mounting portion into the bag filling portion; b) drawing abag from the bag mounting portion into the bag filling portion. c)engaging the bag with the bag separating member; and d) filling the bagwithin the bag filling portion.
 17. The method of claim 16 furthercomprising the steps of: a) removing the filled bag from the bag fillingportion; and b) drawing a subsequent bag from the bag mounting portioninto the bag filling portion.
 18. The method of claim 17 wherein thesteps of removing the filled bag and drawing the subsequent bag from thebag mounting portion into the filling portion occur simultaneously. 19.The method of claim 16 wherein the steps of drawing the bag into the bagfilling portion and engaging the bag with the bag separating memberoccur simultaneously.
 20. The method of claim 16 further comprising thestep of replacing the number of bags on the bag mounting portion afterthe step of filling the bag.
 21. The device of claim 1 furthercomprising a bag separating member positioned between the bag mountingportion and a bag filling portion, the bag separating member including acentral aperture through which bags from the bag mounting portion canpass into the bag filling portion, wherein the bag separating member isentirely formed.